I'll Win Your Love Again
by Heart's Door
Summary: Dark and Riku meet once again after Dark awakens from deep slumber. Memories are aroused within Dark's mind, but Riku's remain hidden to her. Will Dark be able to help her remember their past romance, or will he be left heartbroken and alone? Revising.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: No, D.N.Angel isn't mine._

**I'll Win Your Love Again**

I watch you with these eyes of mine,  
With the hope that you will do the same.  
Never have I seen a woman so fine,  
I know - I must sound really lame.

But if only you would gaze at me,  
The way I do every day.  
Just once I wish you would,  
Just please - look my way.

Those eyes dark brown,  
The hair chestnut,  
The way you smile through the frown.

The hair that curls around your face,  
The wings that you seem to possess.  
The clumsiness that hides your grace,  
I love you in every way, I must confess.

But if only the memories of the past  
You could recall.  
If only our love had last  
Through the returning of us all.

For once you had loved me,  
The way I love you today.  
Our love was everlasting,  
Nothing could get in our way.

But war came - it had to be fought,  
A battle so fierce,  
Though we would not be hurt - or so I had thought.

Side by side,  
The two of us stood.  
Hand in hand,  
Get between us nothing would.

Then the sword it plunged,  
We the victims of fate.  
If only we had seen it  
Before it was too late.

But, ah, it was not so,  
And there we were.  
Together at the moment,  
But not forever we were sure.

So you, my angel of light,  
Took the risk.  
You gave us both again the chances of life,  
Not sure if our love would survive the mist.

Oh, when I awoke,  
Breathing the free air,  
I was so glad,  
I had not a care.

But then I saw you.  
Remembered your face.  
The passions within me swelled and grew,  
As I recalled our lives of late.

You seemed not to know me,  
When we saw each other that night.  
You did not seem to see  
That I was the dark for your light.

In this time you hate me,  
And you adore another.  
Don't you remember  
That I am your lover?

But that's okay.  
Though it might cause me pain,  
I know deep in my heart,  
I'll win your love again.

* * *

**Hey, thank you for reading. Hope you liked it. If you don't understand, that's okay. It goes with a story. If you want me to write the story on fanfiction then please review! (Critism and flaming is welcome, along with the compliments! And yes, I know. It was a bit off rhythm in some of the stanzas/lines.)**


	2. Dead to Memories

**Chapter 1 - Dead to Memories  
**

A chill wind blew across the school lawn. Autumn leaves fluttered to the ground, their colors warm and bright. The sounds of chattering students filled the air.

Among the students was Daisuke Niwa. He appeared to be a normal fourteen-year-old boy. But looks can be deceiving.

For within the boy of red hair and fire eyes was the spirit of another. The legend: Phantom Thief Dark.

Watching the school Arts & Crafts comittee working on the school float, Daisuke was unaware of the Phantom Thief's thoughts as Dark watched her through the young boy's eyes.

_Dead to memories of loves of past . . ._

_No._ Dark abruptly squashed the memory._ I will not let that stupid prophecy make my future for me. It isn't true. I can't believe everything I hear. They were just words. . . . Only words._

But he knew better.

Daisuke, sensing Dark's uneasiness, became puzzled. Dark was never uneasy. He was the "famous Phantom Thief" wasn't he?

_'Dark, are you okay?' _the redhead asked.

There were a few moments of silence before the Thief answered.

_. . . I'm fine._

_'Are you sure?'_

_Don't worry about it._

Daisuke decided to let the subject drop, but concern washed over him.

What was wrong with Dark? He had been almost completely quiet for a whole month. It wasn't natural. Ever since Dark's first encounter with Riku, he had retreated into a cocoon of silence.

Wait. That was it.

_Dark, does it have to do with Riku?_

_. . . It's nothing Daisuke. Don't worry about it._

Daisuke sighed. He didn't want to have to worry about this, but he didn't want his other half to feel miscontent either.

"Daisuke, are you alright?"

The fourteen-year-old boy jerked into alertness.

"What? Oh, Risa. I'm fine."

Daisuke's heart skipped a beat as he gazed at the girl before him. She was about his height, though at times she seemed to be a few centimeters taller than him. Her long brown hair reached a few inches past her shoulders, and her brown eyes shown with amusement.

"Are you sure? You haven't answered me in the last ten minutes I was talking to you."

"I'm sorry, Risa. I was thinking . . ."

Risa gave a slight pout, but only nodded. "That's alright, Daisuke."

"Risa! Get your butt back here! Just because you're talking to Niwa doesn't mean you get to get out of your share of the work!"

Turning to the voice, Risa frowned. "I wasn't trying to get out of my work!"

"Uh-huh. Sure," her sister retorted.

Daisuke had to laugh. Risa and her twin sister, Riku, were polar opposites.

Riku, unlike Risa, was a tomboy. She despised Risa's girly ways and kept her hair short, her hair constantly curling around her chin. She refused to wear skirts - or any piece of clothing that was close to resembling the prep Risa was. Riku had a fiery personality, and if you even thought about calling her girly, she would know. Then all hell broke loose.

"Well anyway," Risa said, again speaking to Daisuke. "Do you want to help us? We're making the float for the fall parade. It's going to be gorgeous!"

"Ummm . . . Okay," he replied, unable to refuse her.

"Yay! Let's go!"

Dark chuckled a bit at her enthusiasm. She was so . . . ditzy sometimes. She always had been.

"Daisuke, you're helping us, too?"

Daisuke turned to Riku Harada. "Yes, I am. Is that okay?"

A smile lit her face. "Of course!"

Seeing the wide grin on the girl's face, Dark sighed. Why did she have to love _him_?

_Can't you remember me? Anything at all? What does he have that _I_ don't? Will nothing help you remember?_

_Or will you hate me forever and leave me all alone?_

_

* * *

_

**Thanks to all the people who read the poem already! And also, thanks for telling me that the poem was like Ice and Snow. I didn't realize it until I read Vol. 3 (I think) again.**

**And I'll try to write again soon. Until, then, bye! **


	3. A Continuous Heartbreak

A/N: I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I'm having writer's block and I'm often very busy. Please forgive me! I'm working on chapter 2 right now, but I doub't I'll be done with it in a while. To make up for my long absence, here's a quick one-shot that's related to the series. I hope you like it. (I was aiming at an angsty/sad kind of feeling - at least for the ending. Tell me what you think of it and if I reached my goal!)

* * *

**A Continuous Heartbreak **

"_Are you sure you want to do this?"_

_. . . Positive._

_------- _

Riku entered the noisy classroom, ignoring the constant whispers from her excited sister. It was Valentine's Day, so, of course, most of the people who had come early that day were part of the female population.

"Riku!" Risa squealed. "Look!"

She turned to follow her sister's gaze.

On her desk was a valentine. The brown-haired twin walked over to her desk and picked it up. Her sister followed, clinging to her arm excitedly.

It was a simple, home-made card made from red construction paper. Trimmed around the edges with white lace, it lay innocently a top her desk. Beside it was a single white rose.

Riku was surprised to find it on _her_ desk. She had hoped Daisuke would give her a valentine, but she had assumed that he would be much too shy to give her one, even if he did like her.

A cloud of doubt settled about her. What if the card had been accidentally placed on her desk and was meant for someone else? . . . Risa, for instance. But the front of the card read, "_For Riku_" Perhaps it was meant for her after all?

She glanced over in Daisuke's direction. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. _A warm, gentle smile_.

Riku melted from his gaze.

"Well? Open it," Risa insisted, clutching her sister's arm so hard it began to turn red. As did her face.

Riku ignored her sister's whispers, trying to keep her mind on examining the card instead of Daisuke's kind smile.

The front was plain and unblemished by drawings, creases, or writings, save her name. It seemed so cheap, as though it had been made by a very neat six-year-old. It was an ordinary card that anyone could have made. It was so typical. But yet, the card seemed to glow and radiate a simple kind of tenderness. It had been made with such loving, tender care.

Riku's stomach lurched as she opened it.

_Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
Within my heart is love  
Within my mind is you_

_I have a single heartache  
Whenever you walk by  
For you are like the ocean  
And I am like the sky_

_We can't be together  
For love isn't there  
My thoughts of you are many  
But your thoughts of me are rare_

_So even if you hate me  
And even if you despise  
I'll forever love you  
Your smile will light my skies_

_Roses are red  
Violets are blue  
You are in my heart  
Do you love me too?_

She heard Risa gasp beside her as her own eyes widened in shock. Who wouldn't be surprised to find their valentine signed . . .

_**Dark**_

Riku's mind froze. Her heart fluttered. Her soul churned with unwanted questions and feelings. How to make sense of it all? What was this she was feeling? She hated him. Why would he send her this valentine if he understood this? Did he really love her? Or was he toying with her?

After a few heartbeats, she picked out from the emotional uproar the feeling that made most sense to her.

"THAT PERVERT! HOW DID HE SNEAK INTO OUR SCHOOL? UGH! THAT DISGUSTING LITTLE WOMANIZER! HE'S A TOTAL FLIRT!"

Everyone turned to watch her as her rants grew louder and more wild, her feelings within tangling in a more confused manner.

-------

_And the Thief could only watch the spectacle through his tamer's eyes, his heart breaking. . . again . . . and again . . . and again._


	4. A Lit Flame

**Chapter 2 – A Lit Flame**

Dark awoke from his nap to find that Daisuke was back home at the Niwa mansion.

'_We're going to steal the Feather Token today,'_ Daisuke informed him.

Dark nodded, knowing that his Tamer would sense it. He did, and he returned to watching the pointless drivel of an American cartoon show on the TV called "Johnny Test". Though it was amusing at certain parts of the show, it was quite . . . stupid.

The Phantom Thief watched a few minutes of the show with his Tamer, but after seeing the main character Johnny do several stupid things, including making his talking dog act like a girl, he decided it wasn't doing much to help his already deteriorating brain cells. Instead he retreated into his own world within the redhead once more, his eyes gazing into complete darkness. Within his reality, flowers bloomed but wilted within seconds, as in the real world, he lived and found happiness – until he remembered the love he had lost to his own master. Within, he allowed the chants of the past and its horrifying images to dissolve into the black so that he was once again back in the past, hundreds of years before.

"_Dark! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"_

_He turned to look into the warm, brown eyes of Riku Harada. Her ceremonial white gown pooled around her dainty feet, which were adorned with pure white, satin slippers. A necklace graced her neck. The shining, green gem hanging from it smiled at him with its own inner light._

_He smiled at the concern in her eyes. A few years before, the chocolate orbs would have been filled with hate and annoyance._

"_Oh, really? Well I thought you would know to look for me in your bedroom. Isn't it obvious that I would want to be in here?"_

_Riku's face turned bright red and the concern was gone from her face._

_Slapping the Thief's arm, she cried, "That is vulgar humor! Why are you really in here anyway?"_

_Dark laughed. "Relax. I, actually, wasn't here to express my undying love for you." Here, Riku made a face. "Your mother asked me to look for you."_

"_Mother told me you got lost."_

"_Well, actually, I did. I finally found my way here three hours after your mother first told me to look for you."_

"_Dark, Mother told me that she saw you at noon. It's nearly midnight."_

"_Oh."_

"_WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN HERE?"_

"_Ehhh . . . . Nothing perverted, so don't get too excited." Riku made another face. "Fine, fine. I took a long time because I wanted to find one of your fancy party gowns -"_

"_DARK!"_

"_- to give as a gift to Krad when he comes to visit this year. He looks so much like a girl that I'm sure he wouldn't mind dressing like one. After all, everyone knows he's after Prince Satoshi's heart. Which is disgusting, in case you haven't noticed."_

_Riku rolled her eyes, a knowing smile on her face. Her light laughter echoed down the halls._

Dark sighed, bringing him back to the present; to reality. How he missed the sweet memories of the past, the random, yet warm moments spent in the company of one who loved him for who he was, for the fact that he was Dark, not Phantom Thief Dark: the hot guy who stole artifacts and paintings from other people.

_Oh, Riku. How I wish you remembered my love for you._

…….

"Riku! Let's go watch Dark tonight!" 

Riku groaned. She looked at her twin sister, who was dressed in a white dress. It hung from her thin frame by spaghetti straps, and the skirt ended just at her knees. It looked really nice on her sibling, but she would've gagged if she had to wear it herself.

"Again, Risa? I went with you last week. Leave me alone. It's bad enough that you have to talk about him every minute, every day, of our lives, but now you want me to go with you to watch him steal a feather?"

"Riku! It's not just any feather! The Feather Token symbolizes everlasting love, and it was supposed to have been given to a beautiful maiden a long time ago by a man – a promise to the maiden that he would one day find her again after they parted! Oh, Riku, you HAVE to come with me! What if Dark decides to give it away? I want to be there so that he doesn't have to look for me!"

The brunette rolled her eyes. Her sister was so dramatically delusional that she thought a perverted criminal would give her a dirty bird feather. One, Dark never gave anyone anything that he stole. That would lose the meaning of stealing. And two, he was a disgusting bastard who played with girls' hearts; guys like him never stopped for a moment to think about how the girl he was messing with might actually like him for real. Riku would not, WOULD NOT, allow Risa to have her heart broken by some stupid idiot like him.

"Riku, pleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssssssseeeee. I promise, I will never, EVER, ask you to go with me again." Risa's eyes went wide, imitating a cute little puppy. (Riku didn't bother pointing out that Risa had said the same thing the last time she had asked her to go to the museum.)

Riku shook her head. She wouldn't let in this time.

"Rikuuuu." Whimper. "Please…"

The elder twin turned to see tears pooling in the younger's eyes.

She let out an exasperated sigh. She hated seeing her sister cry. "Fiiiinnnneeee."

Risa squealed. "Yay!" Holding out a dress identical to hers, she cried, "Now put this on! If we're going to go meet Dark, we're going to meet him looking good!"

"WHAT! NO WAY AM I WEARING THAT DRESS!"

…….

"Daisuke? It's time to go to the museum, darling!"

The redhead stumbled down the stairs, dressed in yet another one of Emiko's Phantom Thief costumes.

She squealed. "Daisuke you look so cute!" She pinched his cheeks, receiving a surprised yelp from him.

Pulling something out from her pocket, Mrs. Niwa exclaimed, "Now let's go! You don't want to be late, do you?"

Daisuke gazed at the picture. The younger Harada twin stared back at him, and her warm smile made his heart skip a beat. Heat rushed to his cheeks and his face turned as red as his fiery hair. He immediately turned into his other self.

Dark slumped in his place.

He received a light slap on his shoulder. "Now, now, Dark! Stand up straight! You're a Phantom Thief! Now act like it!"

Mrs. Niwa's pep talk only earned her a blank stare.

Her face softened.

"Dark, are you alright?"

No answer.

"Dark, this is about Riku, isn't it?"

Again, there was no spoken answer, only an unspoken one – the pained look in his eyes as she uttered that name.

"Dark, don't worry about her." Emiko placed her hands on his shoulders. "Look, if you two are meant to be together, then you will be, okay? Fate always does what it means to do. Whether if it is to bring two souls together, or keep them apart. But it'll all turn out fine in the end. Humans weren't meant to live in pain forever."

The Phantom Thief looked down at her with dead eyes.

"Emiko, I'm no human."

She winced.

"Sorry. But you were, once. Remember? It was Riku's gift, before she had to bring you and the Niwa line together. . . And you know what? If you two are here, in this time, in this same time, then I'm sure there is a reason. After all, fate wasn't made to bring misery, but to help people to carry on in their lives. And if fate has caused you two to live again in this same time in history, then there is a definite reason. And like I said, what that reason is, I don't know. Nobody knows. But it'll turn out alright in the end. It almost always does."

He gave her a weak smile.

But she took it as a good sign because of the little spark that had once again lit within his violet eyes.

She gave him a tight hug.

"I'm sure she still loves you, deep inside, Dark. She may not remember you, but she's the same ol' Riku you knew so long ago."

The Phantom Thief nodded, and hope rose up within him once again.

He didn't know whether he would ever feel totally complete like he once had, but at least now he had hope. That little flame within his heart had been ignited within his soul once again. And that would help him continue on.

_I haven't given up on you, yet, Riku. And I hope you haven't given up on me._

…….

"How did you get him to take your words to heart in such a short amount of time?"

Emiko turned to face her husband who had been listening to the conversation from the shadows at the top of the stairs.

She gave him a small, sad smile. "He's dwelled on the past for a month. He was searching for something to hold onto. To help him continue on. And I did just that."

Kosuke nodded and, taking Emiko's hand, the two watched the winged man fly into the night, and they wished him luck.

…….

Dark spread out his wings, glad to be flying among the stars again. The cool, night air brought relief to his lungs and gave him peace of mind. Flying was one of the few things that could get him to relax and let go of his concerns and fears.

Making a few turns, he found himself just above a balcony that could be walked upon when two glass doors were opened from the great mansion. Inside, he could hear yells and screams and insults being thrown.

He chuckled. Riku and Risa were at it again.

He swooped down low, preparing to land on the balcony.

'_DARK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON'T GO OVER THERE!'_

Dark smirked, for the old confidence from before had come back to him_. Well, why not? Afraid I might win Risa's heart over?_ Dark teased.

He felt his Tamer's heart soar at the spoken name. He chuckled again.

_All right. I won't go over there. But only because we need to get the museum before we're late._

With that said, the Thief continued his flight over the sparkling city of Azumano.

…….

Risa's squeal pierced her ears.

"RIKU YOU LOOK SO CUTE!"

She winced. "Err. . . Thanks. Let's just go, okay?"

Risa nodded, a smile playing on her lips.

After bidding their short good-byes to their mother, who was excited over Risa's little idea about the possibility that Dark might give her the feather, the two set off to the museum with Risa in the lead.

After a few moments of peaceful silence, Risa commented, "If only Daisuke could see you like this, huh?" Her grin made Riku's cheeks turn the color of the said one's eyes. Risa laughed. "I think you look pretty in those clothes," she added. "Why don't you ever dress like that at school? I'm sure guys would pay more attention to you."

Riku turned to her, not thinking that the words she was about to speak would be taken the wrong way. ". . . Risa, I'm not like you," she answered, regretting the words immediately.

The younger's eyes filled with hurt. She tried to cover it up with anger. "What's that supposed to mean! You have no right to say that, you over-grown . . . ROAD KILL!"

The elder's eyes widened at the sudden outburst. She felt shameful for saying what she did, but it did not stop her short temper from rising up within her. "I mean I don't like to dress up just to get guys to like me! I'm a unique human being, and I don't need to try to win someone's affection with shallow acts! I DON'T NEED TO ACT LIKE AN AIR HEAD LIKE YOU!"

Risa flinched and grew quiet, and she turned away.

Again, Riku regretted her words. She silently closed her eyes, begging her conscience to take away the guilt that pierced her heart. She knew Risa was about to cry, and it made her want to do the same. She shook her head in remorse, looking anywhere but at her sister.

The night grew quiet as the two siblings walked on.

* * *

**A/N - Sorry for such a long wait! School and tutoring is taking up so much of my time, and I've been having writer's block. I'm seriously REALLY sorry! Please forgive me! I hope I made up for such a long absence with this (kind of, I suppose) long chapter! I've probably reread and proofread it like 3-5 or 5-7 times (or something). And I can't promise that the next chapter will come out soon since I need to continue other series I'm working on too, but I'll try to write it when I have time.**

**And also, if you want me to answer your questions and reviews, please sign in so that I can write back directly. (SelenaMousy/SelenaKurashi: I did write the poem myself; thanks for the compliment. And it would depend on what you wanted to use the poem for. And sorry for taking a long time to answer!)**

**Constructive critism and advice is GREATLY welcomed! And please tell me if I wrote this chapter well. I tried so hard to make it practically perfect that I'd really like to hear some feedback!**


	5. Feather Mist

**Chapter 3 - Feather Mist**

The clock tower's chime resonated through the air: 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…

Dark grinned. "Almost there."

15 minutes later, the Phantom Thief caught sight of the museum. He swooped down low, narrowly missing an officer's head. Landing on the roof, he laughed. Right on time.

He felt relaxed again, doing the thing he loved. Sure, others might not like his occupation, but it gave him such a thrill… Something to make his life feel significant and full of purpose, even if he only felt that way for a short while…

Daisuke was eager to start, too. Though he always protested about these kinds of things, he couldn't help but feel the same thrill as his other half. _'Ready, Dark?'_ he asked.

Dark flicked a few long hairs out of his face. A smirk tugged at his lips, and his eyes shown with a content peace. "It's show time."

…..

Riku sighed, breaking the silence. Perhaps 20 minutes had passed since their conversation had taken place. She turned towards her sister, hoping her apology would help the tension between them to melt away. Risa was trying to make one of her dreams come true. And even though Riku thought it was one of her stupidest ideas yet, she wanted Risa to at least be happy by the time they reached the museum.

"Risa, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said what I did."

The girl's downcast face lifted, and her brown eyes shone, as if she was still trying to hold back tears. She rubbed them away, appearing to be irritated at them. She gazed back at Harada the elder. "It's alright, Riku." She paused. "You were right."

Riku shook her head. "No, I was wrong. I had no right to say what I did."

Risa took a step towards her. "You did have the right. You're my sister. And you're supposed to say something when you think I'm doing something wrong. Or something… And I was thinking about what you said." She turned away in embarrassment. Red colored her cheeks, and she grimaced. "It was completely true."

She looked at her sister again, reaching out her hand. "... Forgive and forget?"

Riku smiled, taking it in her own, shaking it. "Yeah."

…..

Loud shouts and the usual bedlam bombarded his ears. Ugh. Those so called "professionals" were proving more and more everyday that they were nothing but a band of fools, always making everything harder than it was. When would they ever learn that the secret to capturing Dark was not simply lunging for him, but using an intelligent strategy?

His head throbbed with annoyance. There was another shout of shocked surprise, and he rubbed his temples. How could those men have graduated from the police academy? By the way they were acting, it was like they had graduated from clown academy.

"Commander Hiwatari! How nice to see you!"

He didn't bother turning around; he recognized the voice. And no one talked like he did. "Dark. Glad to see that you've resurfaced from your deep sea of despair. Your self-pitying tears almost got me worried," the young blue-haired boy replied. His words were thickly smothered in sarcasm. His expression remained… expressionless.

Dark laughed nonetheless. "Thanks, Commander. Any emotional reaction coming from you is a great compliment."

Satoshi frowned at yet another of his annoying comebacks.

The Phantom Thief smiled. No, smirked. _Heh. He's annoyed…_

'_Dark, you shouldn't intentionally aggravate him. It's not very nice.'_

_Ah, Daisuke, c'mon. What's a little fun without the insults?_

Daisuke could only sigh at the comment. He seemed to have forgotten that he had been depressed only half an hour ago. And no matter how old Dark was, he still had that childishness of his.

'_Let's just get this over with, okay?'_

_Yokie dokie!_

Dark's nerves tingled with anticipation. With Daisuke, the feeling was doubled over. Like having 10 cups of coffee floating in your blood stream and wanting to bounce off the walls.

'_Well? Ready?'_

_Set… Go!_

Dark sensed the faint presence of a magical art piece, most likely the feather, and took off at a sprint down the long, dark hall, past the young Commander. Satoshi immediately took chase, easily slipping back into their little game.

Their footsteps echoed down the corridor, echoed in their ears. Quickly made twists and turns brought a slight lightheadedness to them. Soon, the sounds of sirens and excited squeals from several fan girls faded away, and all they could hear was their haggard breathing. Still they ran further, down the many hallways, then descending down a set of stairs, a sudden chill reaching out at them.

The Phantom Thief skidded to a stop. Before him, a large vault door loomed in the darkness. He panted for air, his breathing quickening with exhilaration. Behind that door was the Feather Token, and it beckoned to him, called to him.

He quickly glanced behind him, scanned his surroundings. Satoshi was nowhere in sight. He had lost him.

He turned back towards the door, noticing a flash of silver in his peripheral vision.

He jumped to the side, narrowly escaping the handcuffs and Satoshi's grasp.

_That was a close one._

The Commander stood before the vault door, blocking Dark's way of reaching it. "Don't tell me you're already letting your guard down," he said.

"No, I just wanted to see if you could even get close to catching me. And apparently, you missed by a mile."

Dark could've sworn he saw the fourteen-year-old roll his eyes.

The two stared each other down, daring the other to move. No one did. A thick silence fell upon them, smothering them. And all the while, the Feather called to him, almost driving him mad with yearning.

_I have to get to it!_

Dark jumped forward.

…..

The Harada twins had reached the museum, just in time to see Dark fly overhead and jump into a window, his black wings disappearing with him.

Risa sighed in admiration. "That took skill, Riku! And he's so very skilled…"

Riku rolled her eyes in disgust. The lovey-dovey look in her eyes made her want to hurl. What kind of force could make a girl turn all googly-eyed like this? It was amazing. But, oh, so very scary. She hoped that never happened to her. It would be the end of the world as they knew it.

Risa grabbed her sister's hand. "Come on, Riku! Let's go find a bench to sit on to wait for Dark to come back out!" And with determined enthusiasm, she ran around the loud crowd, avoiding moving bodies, and branches swaying in the light wind, dragging poor Riku behind her.

…..

"Do you think Dark's okay?"

Kosuke turned at his wife's worried tone. He cocked his head to the side. Why was she so worried? She had never so much as broken a sweat before, even the times when she knew fully well that Dark was probably going to come back home with a few cuts and bruises.

"Don't worry, Emiko. He'll be fine. He's always come back in one piece before, right?"

Emiko shook her red-haired head. "No, I'm not sure about this time. Maybe I shouldn't have sent him. I keep feeling like something bad is going to happen. I felt it before, but I didn't think too much of it. Now it's stronger, and I can't shake the thought that he might not be 'alright' when he comes back."

She fell back into the couch, her face growing pink with worry.

Kosuke sat himself next to her. "He'll be fine, Emiko. He'll be fine."

She could only sigh.

…..

Satoshi stepped in front of him, reaching out to grab him. Dark spun away from his grasp, barely avoiding a collision with the hard, concrete wall.

He felt a cold hand grab his arm. Instinctively, he wriggled out of its grip, knocking the hand's owner away. Satoshi was thrown into the far off wall. His head rolled to the side. He was now unconscious.

'_Satoshi!'_

A bit of concern pulled at the Phantom Thief, but he brushed it away, deciding to ignore it so he could focus on more important matters. _Relax, Daisuke. He's only unconscious. He'll come back around again, maybe with a bump or two… Hopefully he won't be coming around for a while…_

With that said, Dark turned towards the vault door. _Hmmm… Now how to open it…_ He examined the large hindrance. It was made of stainless steel, and obviously, you couldn't just open it without having to go through some kind of security. There was a bit of technology on the face of the steel. Its blue screen glowed faintly, and a number pad and letter pad was placed beneath it. _Great. They made it even more complicated by adding letters into the code! It doesn't even tell you how many characters are in the password! There could be, what, hundreds of thousands of combinations?_

After a few moments, Dark pushed away the thoughts and decided to just attempt to crack the code. A few minutes passed, and still, he couldn't figure it out.

_Any ideas, Daisuke?_

'_Maybe it's related to the Feather?'_

Dark frowned. That didn't help much.

The minutes crawled by.

He groaned in frustration. "It's probably been 15-30 minutes since we first entered the museum, and we still haven't gotten through this door to the Feather! It's never taken this long before!" He slammed his fist against the cold steel.

Then came searing pain.

His eyes widened in surprise, gazing at the burn marks on his left arm. He lifted his head and looked up into golden eyes.

"Dark, how nice to see you."

The Thief's stomach curled in revulsion. An eye twitched at the sight of the demented creature before him. "Krad," he hissed.

"Are you ready to get caught today, Dark?" he asked.

Dark snorted. "Don't you ever get tired of saying things like that?"

The tainted angel jumped forward, sending a punch into his stomach. His breath was knocked out of him, and his lungs gasped to replace the lost air. But the golden-haired man didn't wait for Dark to recover. He quickly landed another attack, kicking the Thief against the vault door. The sinister laugh that escaped from his throat sent a chill down Dark's spine, sickening him to his very core.

_That's it. I'm using magic._

He gathered the energy from within him, hastily launching the magical attack against Krad. He was thrown through a wall. Swiftly, he unleashed a larger amount of magic onto the surface of the steel door. The door exploded, and Dark made it through the dust and debris safely, having been protected by a magical shield.

_Daisuke?_

He was met by silence. Shock from the immense pain had made his Tamer lose consciousness. For now, he was on his own.

Dark sighed. _Sorry, Daisuke…_

He waited for the drifting dust to clear. Then, when it did, he finally had a glimpse of the vault's interior.

It was a plain room. Completely empty.

But then he felt it. The Feather's presence.

He turned his gaze upward, breathing in sharply when he found what he was looking for.

Above him, floating just below the ceiling, was the Feather Token. It was nothing special, really. Only a large dark feather, seemingly drifting on an invisible wind. But looking closely, Dark saw that when he looked closely enough, he could see little flashes of misty silver.

Abruptly, another memory invaded his mind.

"_A Feather, so black,  
But yet shines with mist.  
A magic attack -  
But can you resist?  
Touched with an evil  
That will slowly invade;  
The feather's final upheaval -  
You cannot evade."_

Dark's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

Then, burning pain.

And a blackness creeping around the corners of his vision.

…..

A chill swept through her, and she shivered. What was that? There was no wind at the moment. And it was a warm night, even for fall. Why had she suddenly felt so cold?

Risa glanced at the museum nervously. What was happening in there? Almost an hour had already passed, and still no sign of Dark coming out.

Was this concern she was feeling, or a deep premonition of something yet to come?

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked it! I came out with this one sooner cuz you guys are such awesome readers! Your reviews made me happy :) And anyway, my writer's block has seemed to have gone away for now, so this chapter was longer than the others. Yay! Till next time! Please review! 


	6. The Missing Piece

**Chapter 4 – The Missing Piece**

The room shook from the impact. He slid to the ground, his head throbbing with pain.

_What the hell?_

Dark turned towards the entryway, not at all surprised by what he saw.

Standing among the rubble stood that cursed angel. The smirk on his face made him want to rip it off in unchecked fury. Smirks were _his_ trademark, and his only. It was reserved for only the best. And that guy was definitely nothing compared to him. A wave of fury and annoyance pushed its way into his core.

Not to mention that constant throbbing pain.

"I don't lose that easily." Krad's tone was mocking. Full of scornful haughtiness. It was sickening.

"Neither do I," Dark hissed. "Whiz!"

The little white creature appeared to answer his call. Immediately, Whiz leapt onto his master's back, transforming into raven black wings as his master launched himself into the air.

Seeing what Dark was meaning to do, Krad also took to the air.

Both flew upward, hands reaching for the Feather Token. Closer…_closer…**Almost there**_…

The Thief reached out his arm, his fingers just curling around the Feather…

Pure golden energy ripped him from within. A jolt of power raced up his arm, spread down to his legs, the rest of his body, striking him with full force, intensifying the pain. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. He couldn't make a sound. Dark choked on nothing but air. Gasped, only to find his lungs had become worthless vessels. He couldn't breathe. Even with every effort, he couldn't seem to even have the strength to take one single shuddering breath. And then he realized… He couldn't see. Was he becoming blind? No. He could see Krad's outstretched hand. The hand that had sent him this magical pain.

His world was fading away. Everything was becoming so dark… Everything was dissolving around him… Disappearing…

And he was getting so tired… So very tired… His life was draining away…

Still, he strived to obtain the feather. Closed his hand... Then…

Nothing.

…..

Another chill left her numb. Fear gripped her heart, and she couldn't comprehend why. What was happening? Why was she having these feelings? There was no reason to feel this way. What was wrong with her?

"Risa?" Riku called. Worry tinged her tone.

There sat her younger sister, on the park bench they had found near the museum. Just moments ago, she had been smiling and humming quietly to herself, though she had stopped for just a split second. Now, she was sitting as still as a stone. As though the life had been drained out of her.

Risa gave no answer.

"Risaaaaaaaaaa."

Still, her sister didn't utter a word.

"_RISA?_"her call ended in a high-pitched squeak. She was frightened. Risa was always so talkative and easy to pull into a conversation. _So why wasn't she answering her?_

Riku rushed to Risa's side, casting her gaze down at her.

Harada the younger had a grimace on her face, as though she was experiencing some unknown pain. Then her face contorted into an expression of dead fear, her eyes darkening until they were as black as the night.

"Risa! Are you okay?" she asked.

Riku grabbed her shoulders and shook her in panic. Risa wouldn't answer her, and her face was becoming pale, her eyes widening until they were the size of saucers.

"Risa, what's wrong?"

…..

Kosuke fought to catch up with his wife. She ran faster than the blink of an eye, and he couldn't imagine ever catching up with her anytime soon. Already, she was at the edge of the forest that surrounded the museum, Kosuke perhaps 50 yards behind her.

She had seemed so worried at home, and suddenly, she had taken off without word or warning. Just got up, slammed open the door, and sprinted out into the night.

His shouted cry of, "What are you doing?" had only received a reply of "There's something wrong!"

He was filled with confusion, but he eventually decided to trust Emiko. So far, her intuition had never been wrong. There was no reason to doubt her now.

Luckily, Emiko chose that moment to pause and stop for breath. Kosuke caught up to her a few minutes later.

"Emiko –" He was cut short as he followed her gaze.

He noticed the Harada twins by a bench. The elder seemed panicked; the other was silent like the grave.

A strange tension filled the air, and for a moment, no one moved, and no one spoke a word.

…..

Riku didn't know what to do. Risa still remained silent, and she looked as though she could faint at any moment.

"Risa, stop it! I know you're bored and you like acting, but you need to stop it! You know **I** don't like acting!"

"What's happening? Is she alright?"

Riku turned towards the voice. Daisuke's mother stood before her, and she looked as worried as Riku felt.

Mr. Niwa stood a few feet behind her; he jogged over to them, a concerned but confused expression on his face. "What's going on?"

She wasn't sure what to say. "I- I don't know."

A soft voice spoke behind her.

"Dark…"

Riku looked at her sister. Her skin was still ghostly pale, and she was shaking. There had been a slight tremor in her voice. She had her eyes – at least they were no longer a frightening dead black – turned up to her elder sister, and her brown orbs pierced into Riku's own. They held such fear that it spread into Riku's heart like a disease.

"Dark… Is he okay? Something's…. wrong…"

At this, she noticed Mrs. Niwa stiffen beside her.

There was silence once more.

Then the sound of fluttering wings and everyone immediately looked up. A swirl of wind. Dust blew into their eyes, and they were nearly blinded by the whirlwind. White and black swam across Riku's vision. Then it was gone.

In the distance, sirens and shouting were growing louder by the moment. The crowd and police department seemed to be in quite a commotion.

But all of the background noises seemed to fade away as the four's eyes stayed glued to the thing drifting towards Harada the younger.

Risa caught the thing in her hands.

Riku held her breath. The others seemed to be doing the same. A rigid silence fell over them.

She felt her legs moving beneath her, taking her over to Risa. Her eyes grew wider with every step.

Then she quickly took in a sharp, surprised breath as she saw what Risa held.

A large feather. It was a glossy black, larger than any of Dark's feathers. It seemed to flutter slightly, though there was no wind. And it gleamed in the most peculiar way. As it moved side to side in an unseen breeze, a faint coat of white seemed to appear from time to time, surrounding the feather.

It was so magical, so beautiful. So breath-taking. Could it really be? Would he really give it to Risa?

Of all the girls he could have teased with this stupid joke? Did he really have to do this? He was playing with her. He was going to break Risa's heart in the end. Why… How could he be so cruel as to hand Risa this… _thing_? This stupid legend-bound object. It was raising Risa's hopes. It was taking her to far-off heights. Helping her imagine the impossible. Believe that Dark really loved her.

Why did Dark have to make fun of her sister? Tease her?

Deep within, Riku knew that that thing had not been meant as a sign of affection for her sister. And it made her want to cry from pity when she saw how happy Risa looked. That false hope in her eyes.

"The…" Risa turned to her sister, bright-eyed. "Riku…" She held the thing up to the moonlight. "Riku, it's the Feather Token! _The Feather Token!_"

"Risa, how d-"

"Oh, Riku this is wonderful!" The girl was ecstatic. She spun around in a full circle. She gasped in surprise at the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Niwa, as though she hadn't noticed them there before. Then she smiled. "Isn't this wonderful, Mrs. Niwa?"

Mrs. Niwa seemed to hesitate at first.

_Why would she hesistate?_

Then she gave her an awkward, uncertain smile. "Yes, it is… Don't you think so Kosuke?"

Mr. Niwa nodded, though he had an even more confused look on his face. Poor guy, he had no clue what was happening or why it was happening.

Riku frowned. She didn't want to burst Risa's bubble, but there was this nagging feeling, and she felt like she should go with it. Risa would be a lot less heartbroken in the end if she could just caution her beforehand, warn her; so in the end, Risa wouldn't be too surprised of the events that Riku was sure was to follow.

"Risa, I don't think the Feather –"

Risa turned to her. Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You don't think what? You aren't jealous are you?"

Riku frowned at this, flushing a deep crimson red. "No! Of course not! I just don't think –"

"Good. Now let's get home! Mom will be so happy when she hears about this!"

Riku hesitated. She did want to head home. She was tired of standing here, next to the museum. Tired of waiting for something that either would never come, or – judging by the swirl of black that had just flown past – had already gone. But she needed to reason with Risa that Dark probably didn't love her. That this was all a big joke, or an accident, or – she didn't care! She just knew this Feather wasn't meant for Risa. It just didn't feel right.

And even if she wanted to just give up and be happy for Risa, she couldn't. Something kept telling her, **screaming** at her, that there was something wrong with this picture.

"Riku, come on!"

Riku look at the Feather once more. Should she give up now or tell Risa the truth that she believed in?

She sighed, resigning. Ah, well. She would sort out her thoughts and reason with Risa later. For now, she just wanted to go home.

Risa took Riku's hand, practically gliding over the soft grass between the trees, so great was her joy.

She let out a contented sigh, laughed a carefree laugh. She felt so happy, so fulfilled. Nothing in her life had ever happened just the way she had hoped until now. It was the most perfect moment in her life. And nothing could change that.

_Because Dark loved her._

"Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Niwa!" she called.

Mid-stride, she closed her eyes… Felt the night air against her skin… Yes…

_Dark loves me._

…..

Daisuke gave a soft sigh, opening his eyes cautiously. He was back in control again, in his own room, in his own safe house. Thank God, that weird nightmare was over.

"Wait a minute. The museum… How'd we get back from the museum?"

He quickly sat up in bed, crying out in pain as he did so. He slowly lay back down.

"Ow…"

The redhead looked around, searching for any sign of anyone there. Nothing. Nothing was out of place.

Except…

He held up his hands, rummaged around his bed and his clothes.

"Where's the Feather?" he whispered.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews! I had a fun time reading them. Heh heh. Anyway, I'm having exams this month, so I'm not sure when I'll write the next chapter. And I meant to make this chapter longer, but I need to get to sleep and I really wanted to post this up. Better something than nothing, right? Heh. Please review:) Until next time! See ya! 


	7. Disappearing Dust

**Chapter 5 - Disappearing Dust**

He threw off the covers, stumbling out of bed as he did so. A streak of pain stabbed at him, forcing a veil of black over his eyes. He refused to give in, shaking it off. He had to find the Feather.

He knew Dark had found it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have found himself at home, right? And anyway, at one moment in the museum, he had found himself on the border of consciousness and unconsciousness. In that instant, he had seen Dark grab the Feather...

_Now where was it?_

Frantically, he limped about the room. Searching, searching.

He slammed drawers open and closed; he searched the carpet, every inch of his room. He even searched his pile of dirty clothes and looked at the roof around his window.

But in a few minutes, he had practically ripped the room apart. Only to come up with _nothing_.

'_No…'_

Horror seeped into him, filled his mind. _How could he have lost it?_ What was he going to do now?

**How could he have lost it?**

Desperately, he rummaged around his room once more.

He gasped, spotting something fluffy hidden in the shadow of his bedside cabinet.

'_The Feather?'_ he thought hopefully.

He reached for it, holding it up to the light.

No. It was white. Not the glossy black he was looking for.

Daisuke gazed at it curiously. _'Krad's?'_

He pushed the thought aside, saving it for later. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

Moments later. . . still no Feather Token.

Failure pulled at his emotions, reminding him of his physical pain, and he realized there was no reason to fight it any longer. He collapsed in a heap, the black overwhelming him.

- - - - -

_Daisuke. . ._

His mind began to stir. Who was calling him?

_Daisuke. . ._

His name echoed about his mind, poking at him, but barely arousing him from slumber.

'_What? What do you want?'_

_DAISUKE!_

Abruptly, he was pulled back to reality.

The redhead gasped. His temples throbbed, his eardrums felt as though they were going to burst from the horrendous shout he had heard just moments ago. Black dots floated in front of his eyes, and his vision couldn't seem to focus quite yet.

"Wh- Mom. . . Ow. . . Don't do that," he whispered hoarsely.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH, DAISUKE, I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

He was suddenly engulfed by a pair of rose-scented arms. Mrs. Niwa easily squeezed the breath out of poor Daisuke. What saved him from death by suffocation was the sudden wheezing and shudders that racked his body. His mother let go of him immediately. Worry creased her face.

"Ooooooooh, Daisuke I'm so sorry!" she squealed.

Daisuke hopelessly covered his ears. "It's alright," he managed to cough out. "Now please stop shouting!"

Emiko was just about to scream out another apology before she caught herself and clamped a hand over her mouth. She nodded silently.

She gave her son a few minutes to settle back into bed before she asked, "How are you feeling, honey?"

"Awful," he admitted. "My head hurts, my throat hurts, my chest hurts. – It hurts to talk or even think. Dark used magic while we were at the museum. I've experienced the pain before, but it never hurt this much before. Dark always managed to heal most of it away."

Mrs. Niwa looked at him with a curious look. "That's odd…" she said thoughtfully. Then she shrugged. "It's alright. You go ahead and go back to sleep, Daisuke. It'll probably be much better in the morning."

"How did I get home?" He held up the white feather he had found. "Did Satoshi bring me home?"

She thought for a moment.

"Hmmm . . . Maybe. We saw him fly past with Dark a while ago. . ."

Daisuke nodded. _'We can ask him about it tomorrow.'_

Then Daisuke remembered. "Mom, the Feather's missing!"

She didn't answer for a while. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. After a few moments, she merely grinned at him and said, "Good night, Daisuke!"

She stood up, giving him a thumbs up reassuringly before she walked out. After she had closed Daisuke's door quietly, Emiko turned around, almost ramming into her husband. She yelped in surprise.

"Is he alright?"

Emiko took a few deep breaths to calm herself and stop the hyperventilation. She shook her head. "It's probably just because Dark used a bit of magic back at the museum. He'll be better in the morning!"

Kosuke nodded. "Alright."

"But he didn't seem to remember giving Risa the Feather. He claimed that it was missing. Maybe they didn't mean to give it to her?" Mrs. Niwa got a sudden gleam in her eye. Kosuke almost expected her to start laughing maniacally. "Should we get it back? It would be the most exciting heist that Dark has ever done! Imagine the headlines! _Dark Manages to Slip Into Unsuspecting Girl's Room_!"

"Umm. . . Emiko, that doesn't exactly sound like the most flattering headline. . ."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT DOESN'T SOUND FLATTERING? No, wait. . . Hmmm. . . You're right. It'll be embarrassing for Dark if anyone found out that he lost something he stole by simply dropping it! No, we'll get it ourselves. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Mr. Niwa watched her nervously. Sweat appeared on his forehead. _Okay, she's lost it. . ._

_- - - - - _

The next day came around nicely. The sun rose in a frenzy of gold, fiery orange, and autumn red. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the day's forecast according to channel 8 was 75º F with not one drop of cold rain or threat of blustery wind. Yes. A nice day.

But, as you've been told before, not everything is as it seems.

Emiko grumpily stalked through the halls, a pout on her face. Her father, Daiki, had convinced her not to steal the Feather back. "It could traumatize Risa. Dark should get it back himself anyway; straighten it all out himself." But even though Emiko was persuaded that that was the best thing to do, she didn't like it. She had been looking forward to her first personal crime streak.

She stopped before Daisuke's door and sighed. You can imagine the tears streaking down her face as she bit her lip. _My opportunity. . . Gone!_

After some time of calming down, she slammed her son's bedroom door open.

Daisuke was abruptly dragged back kicking and screaming from the land of dreams. He groaned and pulled his sheets up to cover his face.

"Daisuuuuuukeeeee! Ready for school?" Mrs. Niwa asked cheerfully, all signs of her sulking gone.

The redhead sniffed ad sat up in bed. He felt a lot better than he did last night. The pain had disappeared, leaving only a slight bruise on his right hand.

"Dark must have healed me overnight," he said.

"Good!" his mother replied. "Because you and Dark need to get back the Feather from Risa! Okay? Okay! Breakfast is ready! Hurry before it get's cold!" And with that, the door slammed shut again.

Daisuke winced. It was amazing that that side of the wall where his door was hadn't caved in yet.

"What was she talking about?" he asked himself in confusion.

Why couldn't his mother just calm down and explain things to him for once?

He sighed.

- - - - -

Daisuke was soon dressed and at the table for some breakfast. Grandpa was off visiting an old friend of his - he had said it was important - and Kosuke was out doing some errands, leaving just the redhead with his mother.

Today, breakfast was just oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon and raisons. It was simple, but still very delicious.

In between mouthfuls, Daisuke decided to get an explanation out of his mother. "Mom?"

"Hm? Yes, Dai?"

"What in the world were you talking about this morning?"

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she asked, "Dai, what happened in the museum yesterday? I was so worried."

"Worried?"

"Yesterday, while you and Dark were at the museum, I couldn't shake off this feeling that something bad was going to happen. Something... dangerous to your life..."

Daisuke titled his head in thought. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what happened. Everything was fine at first," he said. _'Well, as fine as things can be when you're trying to steal something from a museum while being chased down by one of your friends.'_ He turned back to Emiko. "But then there was a fight. It wasn't a big one. Dark quickly knocked Satoshi out." He felt a bit guilty about that. "Then we tried to open the vault door, but we couldn't figure out the password," he added, embarrassed. (Imagine, two master thieves stumped by a simple code on a block of steel!) "Krad came out, and Dark resorted to using magic. I blacked out. After that, I woke up in bed."

"Hmmm. . ." His mother scratched her head, thinking.

"Well," she said after a while, "Your father and I ended up going to the museum. We saw Riku and Risa there." She paused, her eyes clouding over in confusion. "Something was happening... Something I fail to understand. It was all so strange. - Unreal…

"Poor Riku seemed scared out of her wits! Risa seemed to have lost focus on what was around her. She whispered Dark's name, then suddenly asked if he was okay, saying something was wrong. For a moment, before she turned back to normal and asked that, she seemed to be gazing at something far away. No, she seemed to be gazing inward, at something we can't see..."

Emiko abruptly lost her glazed look.

"Anyhow, after that, Krad and Dark flew by, and the Feather floated down to Risa. It isn't meant for her, is it? I'm almost sure that it isn't!"

Daisuke absorbed all of the information slowly. How strange... How strange that all these things could happen all in one night. Was it really leading up to something bigger like Emiko feared? Like he felt?

He thought back on all the events from last night. Had Dark mentioned anything about giving the Feather to Risa? No, he hadn't. And anyway, after all of the depression about Riku, Risa had been the last person on Dark's mind. Hmm...

Ah!

Daisuke remembered one last, vital fact.

When Daisuke had woken up for one split second, when Dark had grabbed the Feather Token, he had stopped breathing for a moment. Like the air in the room had suddenly dissipated, disappeared. And suddenly there was nothing to keep them conscious.

_Dragged into darkness._

The fourteen-year-old furrowed his brows, relaying the information to his mother, excluding all the stuff about not being able to breathe of course. Emiko would have gone crazy.

"AH HA!" Mrs. Niwa slammed her hand on the table. "So it WASN'T meant for her! Great detective work, Daisuke! Great detective work!" By now, they had both finished their oatmeal. She stood up, a determined gleam in her eye. "Now that we know that Risa shouldn't be the one with the Feather Token, get to school and find out how you can steal that Feather back!"

With that said, Daisuke had barely enough time to grab his school bag before he was forcefully shoved out the door.

- - - - -

Daisuke found himself in front of Azumano Junior High several minutes later. He was quickly greeted by his friend, Takeshi Saehara, who ushered him to class as soon as their greetings had been exchanged.

The redhead was plopped into his seat in the already noisy classroom. Takshi's face came into view.

"Did you hear about it, Daisuke?"

Daisuke blinked. "Huh? Hear about what?"

Takeshi gaped at him. His expression was a cross between embarrassment for his friend's ignorance and astonishment that Daisuke really didn't know what he was talking about.

"You're kidding me, right? _You didn't hear about it?_ It was all over the newspapers and the radio! **You can't tell me that you didn't hear about it!**"

Daisuke gave him a blank look. "Just spit it out."

Takeshi snorted.

"Well, last night's heist was Dark's longest one! He didn't come out 'till 9:30 last night! I know, cuz I was there! And the cops didn't really even see him - all they saw was a big blur. And it wasn't just him! There had been white feathers, too, which means that there must have been another guy with wings just like him! When the police checked out the vault, the vault door had been blown out, and there were scorch marks all over the room! What's even _weirder_ - wait, is that even a word? - is that the Feather Token was gone, but there was dust all over the floor. It glowed, but as soon as they stepped into the room, the dust disappeared. Like WHAM! It was gone! Disappeared into thin air!"

Takeshi jumped up and down excitedly, then ran off to discuss the matter with their other classmates. No one in the room seemed to not be talking about it.

'_Dust that disappears into thin air? What do you make of it, Dark?'_

He received no answer.

'_Hmmm. . . He's probably tired from last night,' _Daisuke thought, shrugging off a strange, creepy feeling.

The redhead looked up for a moment and caught sight of blue hair across the room.

"Hey, Satoshi!"

The blue-haired boy gazed back at him. "I see that you got home safely," he said.

"Yeah. Were you the one that brought me home, Satoshi?"

There was a pause of silence before he received a nod in response.

"Thanks, Satoshi!" Daisuke gave him one of his huge happy-go-lucky smiles in appreciation.

Satoshi gave him another nod.

The shorter boy turned to go back to his seat, but the sound of Satoshi's voice stopped him. Daisuke turned around to face the older boy again, but he had bent his head to stare at his folded hands on his desk.

"Daisuke... Last night, when Krad attacked Dark with magic, and Dark grabbed the Feather Token, something strange happened. Dark seemed to freeze in midair. Then there was a flash of light, which lasted for only a split second. I . . . I don't know why, but the Feather gave me... the strangest feeling... I felt . . . _fear_. Amazingly, so did Krad. After that, we feared for our _lives_ and fled. Krad was so frightened he was even willing to bring you and Dark home."

Satoshi paused and stared into Daisuke's eyes. Those icy orbs caused a chill to crawl down his spine as he saw the fear and concern over the Feather's fate in the older boy's eyes.

"So where is it?"

Daisuke gulped. Satoshi was not going to like this. . .

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm not going to make any stupid excuse. I'm sorry. I was just lazy. That's why it took me so long to write chapter 5. DON'T KILL ME! (squeals and whimpers) Ahem. Anyway, I tried to write this one super long. I planned on writing more than this, but I discovered it would be _too _long. But it's long enough, right? And I did try to make it more descriptive. (I got a burst of inspiration because I realized I could write better if I only tried!) Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. (I'm sorry, I was too lazy to proofread it more than once like I usually do. It's just too long for me to be patient with! Agh I sound so whiny. The summer is making me stupid... I'm babbling!) Ahem... And thank you SO MUCH for the reviews! It reached 50! Thank you! 


	8. Black Arrival

**Chapter 6 - Black Arrival**

_A deep inky black, as far as the eye could see. A gnawing pain creeping up his arms. Like an army of fire ants crawling along his skin, stinging… stinging… **Poisoning.**_

- - - - -

_Ding-dong._

"Cooooming!" Emiko sang.

She pranced down the hallway, humming a cheerful tune. Emiko was in a chipper mood. She had just read the most romantic myth, and it made her steps even more lighter than usual.

As she glided through the front hall, she patted her hair down, making sure she looked presentable. There was a shine on a wall nearby, and the mother caught sight of herself in the antique mirror. _Ahh. Lovely, as usual!_

Emiko reached the door and glanced down at her watch. 2:45. _Oh, it must be Dai-chan, back from school! _she thought to herself.

The said red-head's mother stopped for a moment, wondering whether she should flip the switch and activate the traps that she had been setting up all morning.

_Diiiiiiiiiiiiiing-doooooooooooong._

"Okay, alright. There's no need to rush me!" she huffed, unlocking the door and turning the knob.

Mrs. Niwa was not happy with what she came face to face with.

Or rather, _who_.

- - - - -

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kosuke nearly fell over as he came down the stairs. _What on earth..?_

The house was practically shaking on its foundations from the tension, and Kosuke wondered if he should be fearing for his life.

"WH-WH- HE! . . . !!!!!!!"

Mr. Niwa, having made it down the stairway in one piece, cleared his throat. "Honey…?" He placed a calming hand on his wife's shoulder.

Emiko was hyperventilating. She was clearly, as most teenagers would put it, "freaking out."

Kosuke patted her shoulder. "Honey?" he repeated.

The female finally snapped out of it. She took a deep gulp of air and let it out slowly. Her cheery smile was forcibly placed back on her face.

"Do please come in, Satoshi," she said pleasantly enough. Her right left eye was twitching, and her grin was freakishly lopsided. (Kosuke wondered how this demented-looking creature could be his wife.)

The fourteen-year-old nodded to the mother politely in greeting, not at all fazed in the least. He passed through the doorway and asked for the bathroom. Kosuke gave him directions and the Niwas were left by themselves.

Emiko turned to the small, lone, red-headed figure that had been cowering in the shadows by the door, fearing the wrath of his mother.

"Daisuuuuuuuuke, dear. Why is Satoshi at our house?" Her sickeningly sweet smile widened. And disappeared abruptly. "Didn't I tell you not to hang around him? He's dangerous! Our two clans, the Niwas and the Hikaris, do not mix! We cannot get along with each other!"

Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck. "But Satoshi and I are friends, Mom."

Emiko stomped her feet and shook her fists, much like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

"No, Daisuke!" she practically whined. "You don't understand!" There was a pause, and it was as though a different personality had suddenly taken over. She was suddenly very serious now, all traces of childishness gone. "Daisuke, even if we can somehow '_befriend'_ Satoshi - With him being the last remaining Hikari, and with Niwa blood running through our veins. . . the two clans will never truly be at peace."

Daisuke frowned. "Why?"

She shot him an almost pitying look.

"That's just the way it is."

And they left it at that.

- - - - -

Hiwatari rubbed his tired temples. He knew he wasn't exactly welcome here. Sure, Daisuke didn't mind. He supposed his father didn't mind either. But his mother on the other hand, her aura was giving off waves of irritability. Even so, Satoshi needed to get to business. He hadn't come over for a little chat over tea and cookies. Never mind that that was what Mrs. Niwa was serving them at the moment.

Satoshi cleared his throat. He looked around the circumference of the oak table into each of the Niwa's eyes in turn before beginning.

"Before Dark's last heist, it came to my attention that the 'artwork' he announced that he was going to steal wasn't like his other targets. It was beautiful, yes. And it was, in a sense, magical, too. So I would understand why the Niwas would want it. But what I couldn't understand was how it would catch your attention in the first place when it had just been shipped in, and when it wasn't even of the Hikari." He eyed the Niwa female. "Why did you choose the Feather Token?"

Emiko blinked and cocked her head to the side. She seemed puzzled. Her reaction to his question reminded Satoshi of an ignorant child who had just been told that marbles were, in fact, not actually candy.

Mrs. Niwa 'hmm'ed. She blinked again. "I got a tip."

Now it was her husband's turn to blink. "Huh? I thought you found out about it while you were researching about Hikari artifacts and artworks."

"I did! I got a letter and read it _while_ I was researching." She beamed, seemingly have forgotten that a Hikari was sitting just across from her.

Kosuke could've done an anime fall.

On the opposite side of the table, Satoshi appeared to be deep in thought.

Daisuke turned to gaze at him. "Satoshi?"

"Mrs. Niwa, do you happen to still have that letter?"

The red-haired woman stood up. "Yes, yes, I do! I remember filing it away. I'll be just a second!"

Emiko made her way down the hallway that led out of the living room. It was definitely quiet, which was unusual in the Niwa house. It was normally bustling with activity and shouts and/or whining could usually be heard, too.

She stopped as she reached a window. A dreary, pale light shone from outside. Looking out the rectangular window, Emiko noticed that it was starting to get dark outside. Everything was turning a shade of gloomy grey.

Clouds. The clouds were making the once cheery afternoon seem dark. But the forecast had said there wouldn't be any rain today…

Emiko suddenly felt cold. It was that instinct again. That nagging intuition… What was going to happen, now?

- - - - -

_He screamed._

_It hurt. Like invisible flames were licking at his skin._

_**Please, make it stop.**_

_Flames and ice at war. Both elements tearing at him, and the wish for death forever on his mind. This feeling. . . Painful and taunting._

_Yet, what a. . . a tantalizing feeling. Painful, but pleasurable._

_He screamed again._

_Crackling shivers crawled down his spine._

_In his conscious mind, he begged for the torture to end._

_But, deep inside . . . he wasn't sure if he really wanted this feeling to leave him._

- - - - -

The young girl sighed. And sighed again. This action happened again several times at different intervals. Sigh.

Yup, she was definitely lovesick.

Standing in the doorway, her sister almost couldn't stand it. Wait, what was she thinking? She really, **couldn't** stand it!

"Risa, when are you going to stop looking at that Feather and go do something active?"

Her young sibling barely spared her a glance. "Riku, look! Isn't it beautiful?" she spoke of the Feather.

"Yes, yes, yes. It's very nice. But you've been looking at it ever since you came home - which was about an hour ago! Don't you at least want a snack or something?"

"No, Riku, look." Risa held it even closer to the light hanging above her head. "When I turn it this way, it's a deep midnight black." She turned it ever so slightly. "But when I do this - see! It looks like it's a silver color!"

Riku only shook her head.

What was Risa talking about? She hadn't seen anything.

She looked around the room. It was a total mess. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and a wind was coming through the open balcony doors. Papers fluttered to the floor.

What in the world had Risa been doing in here? Hunting for the Feather? Knowing her, she had probably hidden it somewhere and forgotten where she put it, setting her off into a frantic treasure hunt.

The elder Harada set about to clean up the cluttered room.

_My goodness, is she nuts??_

After a few moments, Riku promptly gave up and walked to the white balcony doors. Another gust of wind hit her in the face. Her chestnut-colored hair flew about her, and she could barely manage to force the doors shut.

Looking around at the room again, she let out a loud groan. What little she had cleaned up was now in a bigger mess than before. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a saying she had heard came into her mind.

_It's like a garbage jungle. . ._

Riku closed her eyes and rested her head against the glass doors. It felt cool against her forehead.

Wait.

A cool window? . . . .

She slowly lifted her head, staring out the glass.

Huh? Clouds? Clouds… But it had been sunny when she had gotten home. . . ?

- - - - -

"AH! I can't find it! I can't find it anywhere!" Papers were tossed about, folders flew into the air, drawers slammed as Emiko continued her search.

"Where is it? I could've sworn I had it sitting in this drawer!"

_Oh no. First the Feather, and now this! How many things could we lose???_

Needless to say, they were to later discover there were many things. . . Yes, _many_ things they could lose.

- - - - -

They waited in silence for the female Niwa to return. Half an hour had already passed, and there was still no sign of her.

Daisuke wondered if he should check up on his mother. What was taking her so long?

He continued along this train of thought for a long while. Then, out of the blue, the young commander spoke up again.

"Daisuke, when have you last spoken to Dark?"

The redhead thought for a moment.

"On the night of the heist," he replied. He tilted his head cutely to the side. "Why?"

Satoshi 'hmm'ed. "Just wondering."

"Okay..."

Satoshi's piercing gaze abruptly met his.

Daisuke wasn't sure he understood the swirling emotions in the older teenager's eyes.

The Hikari's eyes narrowed.

"Talk to him."

* * *

A/N: Yes, I do realize that it took me a long time to write this chapter. Sorry. It was sitting in my hard drive unfinished for a month or so... Quite frankly, I feel like my writing is becoming emotionless. (Or was it already emotionless? o.O) It's really weird... Anyway, I might write up a Christmas special. Ah, and I've gotten interested in Naruto, so I might end up starting a fanfic for that. We'll just have to see. Please review and give me some feedback, constructive criticism, and your opinions. They help inspire me to do better and continue the series.

Anyway, I gotta go now. Bye peeps! Until next time.

Oh, and just so you know, I didn't proofread as much since I know I've already taken too long doing the actual writing of this chapter. Hopefully there weren't too many mistakes.


	9. Entering a New Era

**Entering a New Era**

(I know, the title is stupid, but I thought it was kind of funny, personally. Heh heh.)

- - - - -

Well, I know you're not supposed to write author's notes as chapters, but I need to say something, and I don't really have time to write up a quick chapter right now. Nor do I intend to rush myself when writing…

(A momentary interjection here: I'll insert a part of a poem that I wrote for New Year's so this chapter won't be completely against the rules. Though technically it still is since the poem isn't technically DNAngel related…. Anyway, if you like it, please read the rest on my fictionpress account! You can click on the link on my account page. The part of the poem I'm inserting is _slightly_ related to this storyline I guess.)

Turning back to the matter at hand: I reread volume 8 the other day (I almost cried +.+;;), and I realized that my story didn't include any of the heists that were in the original manga. So that meant that I didn't have much material to work with. And also, I thought that some of the ideas in the Second Hand of Time "arc" (as people call it) could be used in my story and would, hopefully, fit into it and help it along.

Therefore, I'm thinking of rewriting this series. I won't change everything. I'll try to keep as many things as possible, as long as all of the events I keep fit together with my new material. Also, I'll try to make Dark less OOC. Yeah, it is kinda ehmm cute to see him that way, but when I thought about it, I decided that if he was too OOC, then he wasn't really Dark Mousy. (I know, aren't I a party pooper?) So I'll try to fix that too.

If there are any objections, feel free to tell me so in a review. If there any good arguments or if too many of you don't want the change, I guess I won't rewrite the series. I really want to though. ;;; Please tell me if you approve/support me or not, or if you'll just go along for the ride to see how things turn out. (Just wondering, you know?)

Now, without further to do, here's a preview of my poem that can be found on fictionpress(dot)com:

**New Year's Resolutions**

We remember past thoughts  
Past actions and past words  
We remember complaints  
And the things that we've heard

Make a promise for more caution  
For a much less sharp tongue  
To not make the same mistakes  
That cannot be undone

Cough… Wow, what a long author's note….

* * *

_Dead to memories of loves of past,  
__The Maidens fair will remember not..._


End file.
